Politics may be the Shabbat table or watercooler topic of the year — or maybe it’s not, as emotions are so heated that civil and casual conversation have become ever more difficult and elusive. But it is worth remembering in these Days of Awe that the liturgical themes deal less with the attributes or deficits of others, but rather our own. And the prayers and reflections have less to do with national or international concerns than our internal mysteries, our personal relationships, our characteristics that no one may have seen, except that impeccable journalist who most accurately inscribes all our deeds in the Book of Our Lives.

It’s disappointing but not surprising that Jews of color often are made to feel like outsiders in our community. That sense of walking a delicate line between acceptance and rejection was a constant theme heard by staff writer Hannah Dreyfus when she conducted interviews with a number of Jews of color for her report, made possible by a grant from The Jewish Week Investigative Journalism Fund. (See here for part one; the second part will be published next week.)

Shimon Peres, the last of his generation of Israel’s leaders, outlived his rivals and fiercest critics. A hawkish defense minister who for a time supported settlements, he became the prophet of peace and compromise. Once the most mocked and mistrusted of his country’s politicians, he became its most popular leader, almost certainly the best-known and most beloved Israeli in the world in this century.

The New York Times editorial board says the new $38 billion U.S. aid package for Israel’s defense is too big. A number of Israeli political rivals of Prime Minister Netanyahu think the sum is too small. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is upset with the Israeli leader for agreeing to a provision that would prevent Jerusalem from lobbying Congress for additional funds. But then, every major development in the U.S.-Israel relationship these days is bound up in political controversy.